How is XDR TB spread?

Drug-susceptible (regular) TB and XDR TB are spread the
same way. TB germs are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the
lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. These germs can float in the
air for several hours, depending on the environment. Persons who breathe in the
air containing these TB germs can become infected.

TB is not spread by

shaking someone's hand

sharing food or drink touching bed linens or toilet
seats

sharing toothbrushes

kissing smoking or sharing cigarettes

Why is XDR TB
so serious?

Because XDR TB is resistant to the most powerful first-line and
second-line drugs, patients are left with treatment options that are much less
effective and often have worse treatment outcomes. XDR TB is of special concern
for persons with HIV infection or other conditions that can weaken the immune
system. These persons are more likely to develop TB disease once they are
infected, and also have a higher risk of death once they develop TB disease.

CDC Issues Isolation Order for Man with TB

In May 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
issued an order to quarantine a man who flew on two transatlantic flights with a rare, dangerous form of tuberculosisand potentially exposed passengers and
crew to the infection.

The Atlanta man was believed to be infected with the form of the tuberculosis bacteria known
as "extensively drug-resistant" TB, abbreviated XDR TB. Tuberculosis is a
bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs, and the infection is
spread via air droplets released during coughing, spitting, sneezing, or
talking. XDR TB causes the same symptoms that a person would develop with TB. If TB disease is present, cough and feverwould be the predominant symptoms. XDR TB is a rare form of the disease that is resistant to the drugs
routinely used to treat tuberculosis infections and is extremely difficult to
treat. The few treatment options available for XDR TB are less effective and
associated with worse outcomes than traditional antibiotic therapies for TB. In
2006, there were two documented cases of XDR TB in the U.S.

Health authorities were aware of the man's condition and had warned the man
against traveling, but he stated that compelling personal reasons led him to fly
from Atlanta to Paris on May 13. On May 24, he returned to North America on a
flight from Prague to Montreal and entered the U.S. by car. While it is not
certain that passengers and crew on board the flights were infected, the CDC
recommended that passengers and crew on those flights be tested for TB
infection. Particularly those seated within two rows of the infected man are at
greatest risk for infection.

After his return to the U.S., the man cooperated with authorities and
voluntarily entered a hospital in Atlanta and was placed in respiratory
isolation to prevent spread of the infection. This event marked the first time
since 1963, when a patient with smallpox was quarantined, that the CDC
issued this type of isolation order.